Shawn Layden, President of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), has revealed that Sony Santa Monica is currently working on its “next big franchise” for PlayStation formats.
Layden dropped the comments during a chinwag with VentureBeat about women in video games, stating it’s "something we all take on board as individual corporations. We are best in class — or close to it, certainly – in this industry.
"In the development group we have Shannon Studstill, who runs our whole Santa Monica operation," added Layden. "She’s going to bring the next big franchise out from there."
Santa Monica Studio is of course the developer behind the critically acclaimed God of War series, which remains one of Sony’s biggest-selling IPs. A new God of War has been rumored for a while now, though the studio has yet to officially confirm its existence.
The company is currently involved in the creation of the PlayStation 4-exclusive alternate-history action title, The Order: 1886, alongside Ready at Dawn.
Prior to this, the California-based studio was working on a new science-fiction IP, which was sadly cancelled earlier this year. This also resulted in the departure of long-time employee, Stig Asmussen, who served as director of 2010’s God of War III.
What genre would you like to see Santa Monica tackle for its next franchise? Or would you like to see Kratos return for another God of War? Let us know in the comments section below.